Sweet Sweet Sixteenth
by QuiFruiturFabulis
Summary: It's Chihiro's sweet sixteenth birthday party, and it's the party of the year. Unfortunately, strange things keep happening inside her head. can she figure out the strange longing deep insider her? [ChixHaku, obviously,  R&R!]
1. Chapter 1

A/N

Please R&R, tell me what you think!

"Chihiro, hurry up! We're going to be late!!"

Chihiro sighed. Her mother always had to be right on time: Precisely 6:00. She stood up from her bed, straightened out her light blue silk shirt, and walked towards her bedroom door. Today was the day Chihiro turned sixteen. Despite her insistence on a small, close-friends-only birthday party, her mother had insisted upon such a massive sweet-sixteen. _'I supposed it is a big turning point'_ thought chihiro, _'I guess she just doesn't understand.' _She looked out the window, and up at the lat summer sun setting over the horizon. This time of evening had a profound effect on her, although she couldn't quite understand why. She felt a familiar tug at the back of her mind, as if a part of her were wriggling to try and break free, but never made it any farther than that.

Moving to where she currently lived had changed chihiro dramatically. Suddenly, just one day, she was no longer the whiny, needy little child she once was. After mysteriously arriving a week and a half late to her new home, she was just different. Chihiro had tried numerous times to figure out why she had a strange new set of emotions, with no memories attached, floating around in her heart. Often, she had strange, overwhelmingly familiar dreams, none of which she could remember in the morning. She hypothesized that it had something to do with the reason why her parents had come back from that little red tunnel the day they were to meet the movers, a week and a half later than when they had gone in. Her parents always told her that they had simply gotten the dates wrong, but this explanation didn't seem to satisfy Chihiro, or explain why she had become so mature in such a short period of time. She spoke her mind more confidently, genuinely cared for other, and wasn't afraid to meet new people. In fact, Chihiro had become the most popular girl in grade school, middle school, and in high school as well. That may also, have been part of the reason her mother seemed unable to comprehend why she wanted a smaller-scale birthday celebration.

"Chihiro, hurry up! This is, after all, YOUR birthday party," Her mother said, from her doorway. Chihiro was brought out of her thoughts, and turned to look at her mother. She smiled. "Ok mom, I'm coming," and she walked to her dresser to grab a necklace.

"You look beautiful, Chihiro," said her mother. At her dresser, Chihiro turned to look at her mother. Her eyes displayed an array of emotions: Happiness, joy, pride, and yet sadness and regret. _'I can't imagine how hard mom must be taking my sixteenth birthday,'_ Though Chihiro. _'Her baby is growing up!'_ She laughed inwardly at her own sentimental thought. She smiled, and said a simple thank you. Her mother walked out and chihiro returned to her task.

Looking down, she picked opened her jewelry box and pulled out her favorite necklace. It was a white cord, with 3 small pendants on the bottom. One was a simple yin and yang symbol, Colored Ocean blue and seaweed green. The Second was a little house; it was rather elongated with an elaborate design, and was colored red. The final pendant was that of a dragon, with a white-silver body, and a blue-green main. This was her favorite of the three pendants. She had come across it in a rather unusual way. She had been twelve and had gone to the town she used to live in. there was a river that had been restored, and her science teacher had brought them on a field trip to teach them about erosion, irrigation, and mosses. She had been enveloped by a strange sensation, a mix of déjà vu, overwhelming longing, sadness and joy. As she had been trying to figure out this strange mix of emotions, she noticed something shining on the ground, and bent to pick it up. It was the necklace she now currently held in her hands. It was simple, yet beautiful. The strangest part about it was that the colors in the dragon matched perfectly the color of the water in the river she stood next to. She had been to the river before, before it had been covered up with apartments, and had nearly drowned in it. She remembered the words her teacher told the class perfectly, despite the years. She had said, "Though the river looks well now, it will take years for it to have all of its plant life grow back and become self-sufficient." Though the statement had seemed simple enough, it mad her feel hopeful. Hopeful for what, she could not say.

Chihiro put the necklace around her neck, and looked in the mirror. Her face was impassive with a slight upward twitch at the corner of her lips. Despite her mother making her birthday a bigger deal than she had originally wanted, she couldn't help but smile on her own birthday. She grabbed the purple hair tie from her wrist, and used it to tie up half of her shoulder length chocolate brown locks. Chihiro turned and walked out of her bedroom. She didn't notice in the mirror as she passed the momentary soft glow of the dragon pendant around her neck.

Chihiro walked down the stairs to see, balloons, streamers, to hear people laughing outside, and music that was becoming increasingly louder. The DJ her mother had hired had arrived, and just finished setting up. Her two best friends were already here, and were talking to the DJ.

Chihiro smiled. As long as these two were here, this was sure to be a great birthday, whether 100 people came, or just 10. Chihiro crossed the hall and walked outside to greet her friends.

She crept along the trees, until she was within grabbing distance of her two friends. The DJ noticed her and paused. Chihiro put a finger to her lips. He got the idea, and played along good naturedly, continuing his conversation with the girls.

"You know" He said, rather mysteriously, "I hear that this area up here is haunted. I've heard that the spirits are rather fond of this land, and don't like these houses here" The girls laughed and dismissed this bit of gossip with a wave of their hands. Just as their hand reached their sides, Chihiro sprang up from behind them and screamed.

Both Girls jumped and shrieked with terrified expressions and turned around to face their assailant. Chihiro burst into laughter, along with the DJ, as the girls, hands over their rapidly beating hearts, calmed themselves back down.

"Chihiro, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" shouted Aiko, her long black hair falling in her playfully angry eyes as she spoke. Emi had the same look on her face as Aiko. Emi ran a shaky hand through her shorter, highlighted black hair. Chihiro continued to giggle. "You guys should have seen your faces!"

"If it wasn't your birthday, I'd have to hurt you Chihiro!" Said Emi, with a joking smile. Chihiro gave both of them a hug.

"I'm so glad you both could come! Mom insisted on a big party, even though I really only wanted you guys to come"

They laughed together, and Aiko said, "Chihiro, even if I BEGGED my mom for a party like this, I wouldn't get one in a million years! You are so lucky!"

The three walked around the backyard, by the edge of the steep slope at the edge of her backyard. Her parents enjoyed the view from being high up so much that they refused to fence it off. The three friends sat on the ground and stared off at the slowly setting sun. Aiko and Emi talked about the coming party, and who all would be there. Chihiro's mind drifted off, as she stared into the colors painting the sky. She felt so at ease, and yet, as if something was missing. She sighed silently to herself, and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, Chihiro felt as if she were falling, but not freefalling, she was on something, riding something. She could feel the wind in her hair, her frightened exhilaration, the smell of burning coal….

"Chihiro… chihiro? Hellooo…" Chihiro's eyes snapped open, awakened from her reverie by her a hand violently shoving her shoulder. Her heart was beating fast, as if she had actually been there, only a moment ago. Emi continued to shove at her. Chihiro looked over at her, slightly dazed, and said with a slightly breathless air, "yeah?" Aiko looked concerned. "Chihiro, are you feeling ok? You look a bit pail."

Chihiro quickly pulled her senses together, and nodded rapidly with a large smile. "Ya, I'm fine. Just a bit nervous," she lied, "Turning 16 and all, and the huge party…"

Emi seemed to buy into it, but Aiko looked skeptical. "Ok, that's a relief," said Emi, with a huge smile of relief, "I really didn't want you to cancel the party!"

Chihiro laughed. It was just like Emi…

From a distance, Chihiro Heard a doorbell ring. Despite the strange vision she'd had on the lawn, Chihiro's excitement overwhelmed her curiosity for the moment, as she rushed to the door to let in her guests. The party was starting.

A/N

Chapter 2 is on it's way!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By 8:00 most of the guests had arrived and the DJ was on a roll. Chihiro, Aiko, and Emi had been dancing all night, and by 9:00 they were ready for a break. The three friends, linked arm in arm, walked towards the food table to grab something to eat. Chihiro had a huge grin on her flushed face. "See Chihiro? Your party is awesome! And you wanted something small scale…" Scoffed Emi, and smiled. She was right; Chihiro was having a great time. Her friend knew her all too well.

Aiko, who had been surveying the crowd, noticed something the others had not. "Chihiro, Emi, don't look now, but three guys are walking our way," she smiled and winked, then playfully flipped her long, sleek black hair as she turned her head. Chihiro Suppressed a laugh. Aiko was such a flirt…

Chihiro turned to face the boys now walking straight towards them. She knew all three of them, as they all went to her school. They were, Kaito, favorite school athlete; Makoto, the school's resident tech guy, and the subject to much female flirtation; and Jiro, youngest person in their province, or several for that matter, to have ever published a book.

Chihiro straightened her hair behind her two best friends, and emerged just as the stopped before the three girls. Though Chihiro had gone on dates, and hade a couple boyfriends, none of her relationships seemed to really fit. This is perhaps, why she got so nervous when guys asked her out: She didn't want to reject them. Most guys took it as a sign that she was interested in them, but unfortunately, they had the very opposite idea.

Kaito, approached Emi with a request for a dance, which she obliged with a huge grin. Aiko didn't even wait for Jiro to ask; she simply grabbed his hand, and headed after Aiko, with a wink back at Chihiro. That left only Her and Makoto. She smiled at Makoto, knowing what he was coming. His smile was friendly, warm, and charming. His features were defined, and he was very handsome, however, where other girls would have gone week in the knees, she remained simply unaffected. He bowed before her, then asked the question she knew was coming, "Would the birthday girl be so kind as to honor me with a dance?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes. He seemed like such a nice guy, she couldn't say no. She smiled, and said, "I'd love to," and was led off onto the dance floor.

The music slowed, and Makoto wrapped his arms around Chihiro's waist as she rested her hands on his shoulders. Makoto looked straight into Chihiro's eyes, and she felt obliged to return his gaze, however uncomfortable it made her feel. Chihiro let her eyes glaze over as she drifted off into thought. Her mind returned to the strange vision she had earlier. It felt so familiar, and she was instantly reminded of the dreams she simply couldn't remember. Something was nagging at her, deep down, and she simply couldn't recall the strange emotions from long ago: emotions and feelings drifting inside of her, with no memory to attach them to.

She was brought back to her party by the end of the song, and she refocused her eyes and looked at Makoto. He bowed, and she curtsied, then laughed lightheartedly, as the two returned to the punch table to meet up with the rest of her friends. As the others arrived, makoto turned to her, and said, "Happy birthday Chihiro. I wish you the best." Then he and his two companions walked back across the dance floor as another song began to play. His cologne floated along the air in his wake. It smelled sweet, almost like herbs. Chihiro paused as the scent reached her. Something was triggered in her memory. Herbs, Water, steam… It was as if she were transported to a strange room, filled with steam. She could smell the herbs floating in the hair, and her someone calling for a person named Sen… Sen… It felt so familiar….

"Chihiro!" Aiko was yelling at her. It took a moment for her to register where she was. The steam filled room seemed so REAL… Chihiro was gasping, hear racing, and as her friends yelling subsided, it was replaced with concern.

"Chihiro, are you sure you're ok?" asked Emi, genuinely worried. Chihiro quickly gathered herself, and shook the strange vision from her head. The shaking, she soon realized, brought to her attention a headache that had been developing. She looked at her friends with a slight grimace. She didn't want to tell them what she really saw; She didn't want to spoil their night with worry. She managed a smile. "I'm FINE guys, really. I've got a bit of a headache, but that's nothing some Advil can't fix." Emi smiled with relief, but Aiko looked suspicious. She covered it up, by offering to go with Chihiro to get some Advil from the house. Emi looked excited at this idea. "Great! I can go talk to Kaito!" she said. Chihiro and Aiko laughed, despite the slight pounding that had started up against Chihiro's skull. Emi put on a playful little pout, "What, you don't want me to find my prince and live happily ever after?" she said, lower lip in a fake quiver. The two girls smiled.

"Go ahead, then" said Aiko, and Emi smiled, and walked off towards Kaito. Something Emi said struck a cord deep inside Chihiro. _'Find my prince…'_ It was strange, how such a simple, commonly used phrase seemed to hit her so hard. She shook off the feeling, and followed Aiko into the house.

As soon as Chihiro had swallowed down the Advil, Aiko revealed her true reason for accompanying Chihiro into the house.

"Ok, what's REALLY going on with you, Chihiro?" Aiko said bluntly. _'Nothing gets past her, does it?'_ Thought Chihiro. _'Well, I might as well tell her, she won't rest until she gets it out of me…'_

"Ok, Just promise you won't tell Emi?" asked a defeated Chihiro. A victory grin appeared on Aiko's face. She nodded her head. Chihiro sighed, and prepared her story.

"Well, I've been having these…. Vision… things." She began awkwardly. Aiko cocked her head to the side, but remained quiet, encouraging her on with a wave of her hand. "You guys saw it, earlier today by the edge of the grass? I had shut my eyes, and BAM! It was like I was in another world, and these images, and smells, and feelings started rocketing across my brain…" She couldn't think of how else to describe it. The dull pounding in her head began to lessen, enabling her to think more clearly. "It was like remembering a dream from a long time ago, that had some special significance, but you couldn't for the life of you remember even most of it, and it's been bothering me." She finished somewhat lamely. Aiko had stayed quiet the whole time, taking in what Chihiro was saying. Finally, she came to a conclusion.

"I think you have RBS," she said, a small twinkle in her eye. Chihiro looked confused.

"What?"

"RBS," Aiko repeated, "Restless boy syndrome!" Then she burst out laughing. Chihiro just shook her head in amusement.

"But no, on a more serious note, I think that you just haven't been getting enough sleep," said Aiko, "You've been preparing for this party for weeks, and that combined with school you just need more sleep. You've probably been half drifting off to sleep or something when you have your 'Vision things' as you called them," she said.

'I suppose she's right' thought Chihiro, _'Planning the party with mom has taken up a lot of my time, and then work right after… it was no wonder I'm having delusions!' _Chihiro smiled, and agreed. "you're probably right," said Chihiro, "My headache is gone. You Want to go back out to the party?"

Aiko rolled her eyes, and mumbled. "of course I want to go back to the party!" she said exasperatedly, and laughed, "lets go!"

30 minutes later, Aiko was back with Jiro, and Emi was still with Kaito. Makoto had left, so Chihiro walked along the edge of the hill in a secluded section of her backyard alone, looking up at the stars. The music was fainter for being farther away from the DJ. The night had gone so well so far. _'This is a lot of fun'_ thought Chihiro, _'The stars are beautiful, my two best friends are having the time of their lives, I'm now officially 16, could this night be any more perfect?'_ even as she thought this, there was a part of her, deep down, that disagreed. It was that same nagging feeling she had felt so often throughout the day, and when she franticly woke from the vivid, haunting dreams she could never remember.

Chihiro sighed, and looked out at the stars. She could feel the wind whipping through her hair, the cool night air upon her skin, her hands gripping something in front of her…

She shook her head to rid herself of another vision. She was determined to enjoy the rest of her special evening without any more interference from, or so she thought, her sleep deprivation. She tore her eyes from the sky, quickly checking her watch. It read 10:30. She looked off towards the giant willow tree surrounded by bushes and flowers in the secluded corner in which she was headed. She turned to look back at the sky, but noticed something from the corner of her eye. She did a double take, only to find a boy, about her age, perhaps older, standing under the willow's branches. At first, she thought nothing of it.

"Hey!" She called, smiling, "Why aren't you over with everyone else?" She walked faster, to meet up with him, but stopped ten feet away. She didn't know this boy, but that wasn't what caught her attention. He was not wearing clothes of her current time period. It was white, with blue-green accents, and looked like it was from hundreds of years ago.

She couldn't see his face, as it was hidden in the shadows. Her common sense told her that this boy should not be here, that he could be dangerous, but her heart said otherwise. It was her heart, in the end, that won her internal struggle. Slowly, she inched closer. She felt a magnetic attraction, trusted him, though she had no idea who he was. He continued to simply stand there, half hidden in the shadows. It looked almost as if he were observing her. Her head screamed at her to run the other way, to get far away from him, but the nagging feeling inside her, the emotions with no memory, they poured into her an intense longing to run to him. She was now five feet away. She was starting to be able to make out his face. Though she couldn't see his features clearly, his eyes, strange blue-green eyes, called to her, beckoned her, offered warmth and comfort. Her hear was beating fast.

She felt as if she knew him. Those eyes were so familiar…

She had stopped moving towards him. She could hear the music switch from a slow soulful melody, to more upbeat song. The abrupt change had brought back her common sense. She started to inch back now.

The strange boy, seeing her begin to flee, stepped out of the shadow. He was tall, a few inches taller than she, with shoulder length hair, and eyes the most unusual shade of blue-green. As she took in his appearance, she suddenly stopped, as did her heart.

He had a small smile on his lips, as he said in a deep, rich voice, "Happy birthday Chihiro"

8

A/N

Dun dun dun!!! Stay tuned for chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N

This is the last chapter, but I kept it open for a sequal if I somehow get the urge to write more to this story. Please review!

Chapter 3

"D-do I kn-now you?" Stuttered Chihiro. Her heart was screaming, 'Yes! Yes! You know him!!' but her logic told her that this boy was a complete stranger. He smiled a small, sad smile. "Yes," he said, eyes warming, inviting her closer. She felt her heart constrict, with pain, but also joy, overwhelming joy. Her feet subconsciously stepped closer, but upon noticing her actions, she stepped back farther. "No, I don't…" Chihiro's voice came out as hardly more than a whisper. He smiled back at her encouragingly, and she felt her heart rip in two, though she had no idea how this complete stranger could make her feel this way. Just as she was shaking her head no, her lips formed a word, "Haku..." she whispered. He smiled a small, but joyful, happy smile. She stepped closer. Emotions were swirling within her: fear, joy, longing...

The strange boy with deep blue-green eyes took one hopeful step forward, as she took one shaky step back. The longing within her was too much to bear, and her legs gave way beneath her. She stumbled onto her knees, as images, emotions, smells drifted by her senses, like leaves in the wind, flying by too quickly to be understood. Her heart felt overjoyed, and at the same time desperately sad. He was so familiar, like an old friend lost and forgotten. His smile comforted her, intrigued her. She trusted him blindly, though she was sure she had never seen him before. Her head down, thinking of the name she had said only moments ago, 'haku'… she treasured the name, loved it, longed for it, but, at the same time, knew nothing of it.

Lost in her thoughts and memories, she did not notice him sit next to her and put an arm around her shoulder. She looked up at him, and her first instinct was to push him away, but as she raised her hands, she was drowned with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. She looked into his eyes, and was drowned in their intensity. "It's ok, Chihiro," he said. She was immediately compelled to believe him, but her common sense refused to let her. She was terrified, not because of this stranger who had his arm around her, but because of her complete and unwavering trust in him. She was unable to move, and yet didn't want to. Chihiro felt safe, comforted, and warm with him. She wanted to fall into his arms, embrace him, tell him how she missed him, but so many conflicted emotions prevented her from doing anything but shake her head.

As if he could see the inner conflict within her, he held up a hand. He didn't say a word, but he didn't need to, she knew what he was referring to. Slowly, she pulled up her hand, level with his, and gently pushed against his palm with her fingertips.

The moment their two hands met, everything came crashing back to her. The bathhouse, kamaji, lin, yubaba, boh, zeniba, no-face, HAKU… all the emotions that swam around, empty, inside her heart finally had memories to match.

The sudden flood of memories, the dizzying emotions, it was all too much for Chihiro, as the stream of memories slowly slipped into darkness, along with one final word, "Haku…"

When Chihiro came to, she momentarily forgot where she was. The music from the DJm slowly re-entered her consciousness, reminding her of her party. She opened her eyes little by little, to find herself gazing into the blue-green orbs that were Haku's eyes. He was absently stroking her hair. Her recently re-discovered memories came to the surface, and she sat up and threw herself upon Haku in a long-awaited embrace.

"Haku!" She yelled, "You came back!" a single tear streaked down her cheek. In softer tones, she added, "You kept your promise…" Her arms were wrapped around him, head buried in his chest. He put his arms gently around her.

"I promised. I promised we would see each other again," he said in deep, comforting tones. She kept her head buried in his chest. He smelled like the herbs from the bathhouse. She inhaled deeply.

Finally registering how long they had been held in each other's embrace, Chihiro parted from him slowly, slightly embarrassed. Buy why should she feel embarrassed? Soon, other questions began pressing at her mind. "Haku, you're HERE! How did it happen?" she asked, "How were you able to find me?"

He smiled, and he reached for the necklace around her neck, which he held aloft in his palm. She looked down at what he had reached for.

"Do you remember when you got this?" he asked. Chihiro nodded her head. "I gave it to you, by my riverside," he said, "I made it so that when my river was finally healed, I could find you."

Chihiro smiled. _'I should have known'_ she thought. Haku let go of the necklace, and stood up, holding Chihiro's hand in his. She looked into his eyes, those deep, swirling pools, and didn't look away. She was mesmerized. She could see his joy at finding her, his sorrow at not being able to come sooner, his concern for her, and something else; something that he was hiding, trying to prevent her from finding. She looked harder, but her efforts were interrupted at the sound of her name, and quickly turned her head.

"Chihiro!" It was Emi. They were looking for her. She turned back to look at haku. His emotions were being blocked. She looked at him curiously. He smiled to distract her, but she was not so easily fooled.

"Haku, what is it?" She asked. He didn't answer, but simply put a vacant expression on his face, with a slight smile. He turned instead, to a different topic.

"You still have the hair tie," He said, fondness lacing his deep voice. She smiled, nodded, and said, "You're avoiding the question." Her smile turned accusing, and playful. She looked at him, into his eyes and felt her stubbornness slipping away, her resolve weakening. He melted her heart. Her name was called again. He looked saddened, despite his efforts at covering it up.

"You should go," He said. She knew him enough to know something was amiss. _'I'll let him tell me when he feels he should' _she thought. "Come with me," She said hopefully. "There's still an hour left to my party." The sad look in his eyes looked almost hurt.

"I can't," He said. "I have to return to my river. I can only be away for so long without consequences." At this, her heart dropped. After 6 long years, she thought she would finally be able to see him again, spend time with him, and now that he was back, he had to leave. Who knew how long it would take for them to be reunited after this? A tear welled up in her eye.

His face was nearly unreadable, only a glimpse of sadness displayed. He lifted his hand to wipe the tear that trailed down her cheek.

"We'll see each other again," He said as he smiled his comforting smile. It had take 6 years for him to get to her, and he was leaving again. She didn't want to think of the time that could stretch between now and the next time they would see each other. Chihiro could feel the objection on the tip of her tongue die away as he gazed into her eyes. He grabbed her other hand in his. She let go of his hands, and wrapped her arms around him in a final embrace.

"Kohaku, please don't go," She said, her voice filled with desperation. Her searching eyes reached his, and his resolve broke. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. The world around them seemed to disappear.

"Chihiro, I don't want to leave, but I have to," he said, the sadness no longer disguised. "I wish I could stay, and never have to leave you again, but my river pulls me back." She had hoped he would find a way to stay, but it looked like there was no answer. Haku pulled Chihiro away from him, and the warmth she had felt enveloped in his arms disappeared, along with a part of her heart. She looked in his eyes, silent resolution planted firmly in her mind. She would wait, no matter how long it took. She was going to see him again. A strange look flitted across his face. It wasn't anger nor joy, but… what? Sadness? Disappointment?

As suddenly as the emotion had come into her heart, she recognized it. His heart was breaking, just as hers had. Finally, at long last, he let open the gates holding back his heart. His emotions came tumbling through his eyes, each one hitting her like a ton of bricks. She had no idea he felt this way, the way she felt for him…

"Chihiro," He said, pulling her close again. She could feel his arms wrapped around her waist, gently coercing her closer to him. Her hands rested against her necklace in surprise. He pulled her closer still, until she was within inches of his face. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his. "Chihiro," he breathed, "You mean everything to me. You're my world; I'd go to the ends of the earth for you." Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it would surely burst from her chest. She could feel his heart against her palms, beating just as fast. "I love you," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. Her head was spinning, her heart was beating, she could feel his smooth skin against her forehead, and the scent of fresh river water and herbs lingered upon him. She never wanted to part. "Kohaku," She said softly.

"Mmm?" He responded, opening his eyes slowly.

She pulled her forehead mere inches apart from his, to look into his bright, happy eyes, hers brimming with unshed tears of joy.

"I love you too."

50 feet away, hidden behind a tree, stood aiko, with a smile on her face.

A/N

:-D The End


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